Sage 3880CF Fly Reel Review

Aug 18, 2011

Author: Tucker Ladd

The most obvious feature of Sage's 3800 CF Series of reels is its very minimal weight, the carbon fiber spool allows for a reel that is, in most cases, a full ounce lighter than similarly sized competitors.

What We Say: While maintaining the benefit of minimal weight, the full machined cage packs a drag that is built for work, easily putting the brakes on bulldogging South Platte Carp, with a few more clicks of power to spare.

It balances very nicely with today’s ultra lightweight 3M matrix resin rods and it is a perfect fit for my 9' 7wt St. Croix Bank Robber. While maintaining the benefit of minimal weight, the full machined cage packs a drag that is built for work, easily putting the brakes on bulldogging South Platte Carp, with a few more clicks of power to spare. The contrast of dark carbon fiber and high polish machined aluminum creates a very striking aesthetic for the reel, which, when paired with excellent performance, really rounds out the package. This reel is a steal at $280, and spare carbon spools are only $60 – not bad. My only complaint is that the softer carbon fiber material is prone to cosmetic scratching, but it has not affected performance.

Hatch Outdoors proudly debuts it's Limited Edition 7 Plus reel benefitting the Turneffe Atoll Trust. We sat down with the man behind this project, Hatch Co-Founder John Torok to learn a little more about this great reel, and more importantly, this great cause.